Chef imparts West Coast sensibility to new suburban Dallas restaurant

Chef imparts West Coast sensibility to new suburban Dallas restaurant

Flower Mound diners have a new eatery on the way with Dido's Urban Grill, from a chef who's been on the West Coast for the past 15 years. Gary DiDominick came to Dallas to reconnect with family and open his own restaurant for the first time.

"My parents live here, and the growth in Dallas-Fort Worth is tremendous," DiDominick says. "It seemed like now was a good time to open a restaurant."

He'll take over what is currently Bocelli's Italian Bistro, whose owners sold the business because they are leaving the restaurant industry. Bocelli's closes on July 10, and DiDominick hopes to have Dido's running within a couple of weeks. "We'll do some painting, add some TVs and change out some of the tables," he says.

In San Francisco, he worked at restaurants such as LuLu and Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant.

"What I'm bringing from the Bay Area is the farm-to-table sensibility," DiDominick says. "Even though it's hard to do that in Texas with the heat in the summertime."

His menu includes salads, burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads and a salumi platter; he's also doing unique starters such as chicken-and-waffle sliders and bulgogi sliders with kimchi and spicy Korean-style beef. A bar menu has dishes such as "hillbilly tots," which are tater tots topped with bacon and pulled pork.

He intends to go big on brunch, with chicken-fried rib-eye and eggs, and sweet bacon fritters with wild berry compote and creme Anglaise. "Folks tell me they want to see more cool brunch places here," he says.

DiDominick says he hopes Dido's will fuse his wide-ranging experience. "I've worked for French restaurants, Italian, New American, and I hope to tie that together," he says.